Simple and Clean
by tsukikitty
Summary: She made him feel so... so simple, so clean... like he really didn't need anything else at that moment. Joshyme.
1. The Daily Things

Woo, my first multi-chapter Joshyme fic! Exciting stuff. Quite obviously, I took inspiration from the wonderful Utada Hikaru song "Simple and Clean". The chapter titles are all lines from the song, kthx.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: *does not own TWEWY or any of its lovely characters*

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Simple and Clean

- Ch. 1 -

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Joshua couldn't help but grin as he watched the Bitou siblings go at it. He had heard about them, but he had never actually seen them in action like this.

"Beat, the term is 'rational'."

"Whatchu--? Then the hell does 'ratial' mean?!"

"'_Ratial_' isn't a word, Beat. You said '_ratio_' before, which is a numerical relation between two similar things."

"Well... then... Wait, 'reation'? A'ight, the hell is that, then?!"

"'_Relation_'. The way in which two things are related."

"Wha...?! Aww, man, this is makin' my head hurt, yo..."

Rhyme just smiled. "It's okay, Beat. Don't think too hard about it."

At this point, the ashen-haired Composer actually laughed a little. He almost felt bad for Rhyme, having to deal with this on a regular basis...

"So, anyway, Joshua..." The blonde suddenly turned to face him, one of her signature smiles plastered onto her beaming face. "It's nice to finally meet you!"

Joshua answered her smile with one of _his_ signature smirks. "Yes, it's my pleasure; I've been _dying_ to meet you after having heard so much about you from Neku here - no pun intended, by the way."

Rhyme giggled a little despite the morbidity of his wordplay.

"Yeah... I've heard quite a bit about you, myself," she said, then paused a moment after realizing that a good deal of that "quite a bit" had been negative. Not missing a beat, though, Joshua continued.

"Well, I do hope we get to be friends," he smirked again, then, eyeing Beat as he continued, "even if there is some negativity within our little circle."

"Hey, what wazzat look for, Pretty Boy?!" Beat raised his fist and advanced forward a little, obviously itching for a chance to put a mark on Joshua's "pretty" face, but Shiki quickly cut him off before he could string together any more insults or threats.

"Guys, guys! Come _on_, we're not here to fight! So let's just all get along and go get our lunch already, okay?" She smiled around at the group before turning and defiantly motioning for everyone to follow her. After shooting a final death glare at Joshua, Beat let out a disgruntled _if-you-even-think-of-trying-anything-funny-I'm-going-to-punch-your-lights-out_ "Hmph," and followed after Shiki, Rhyme a few steps behind.

Joshua found himself grinning again. He was glad - genuinely glad - that he had been accepted (for the most part) into their group without anything going wrong. Somehow, when he had envisioned this meeting in his mind earlier, he had seen himself being glared at by three pairs of distrusting eyes as his partner looked on in annoyed but unhelpful silence, maybe throwing in an occasional, "Hey, guys, come on," or a, "Stop glaring at him for a second so I can actually introduce you," but eventually giving up due to lack of motivation and, quite frankly, care.

"So, Joshua..."

He pulled his gaze away from his new "friends'" backs as he realized that he was being spoken to, and also that the former pair of black skull hats in front of him was now only a single.

"Ah, Rhyme. What is it?" He asked, smiling at the Bitou who was now walking beside him. She returned his smile, only ten times brighter and, he had to admit, cuter. She was a cute one.

"I was just wondering... What kind of food do you like? I think they were settled on going to Mexican Dog..."

"Mmm... I'm partial to crepes, myself," Joshua said, fingering his chin thoughtfully. Then, with a slightly more mischievous grin, he inquired, "I don't mean to be rude, but why do you care? I'm kind of a... How did your dear brother put it? A 'no-good prissy bastard?'"

Again, Rhyme giggled despite the nature of the comment. "Well, _I'd_ like to give you a chance. I don't think that you're a bad person, and personally I'd like to get to know you a little better, if that's okay with you."

For a split second, Joshua was a bit taken aback. This girl... she was so optimistic, so _trusting_. Was she really the sister of the idiotic brute walking a few feet ahead of them who wanted to punch him every time he opened his mouth?

"Well, that's very sweet of you," Joshua replied in a half-mocking tone, now studying the girl more closely. There was this inexplicable sparkle in her bright blue eyes that almost pulled you in if you looked for too long...

Rhyme just kept up her cheerful smile, walking along with the slightest bounce in her step. "So, crepes, huh? That's good... I guess Mexican Dog was a good choice, then!"

"Yo, Rhyme, Prissy Kid! You with us? We're almost there!"

"We're right behind you, Beat," Rhyme chirped back. Her brother looked over his shoulder and shot Joshua a threatening glance before turning to face completely forward again.

Rhyme sighed a little and turned back to Joshua. "I'd better go catch up with him. You know, assure him that I'm alright and that you're not back here trying to... well, _kill_ me or anything."

She smiled as Joshua smirked and nodded. As she trotted off, Joshua almost had to laugh out loud at her childish innocence.

_'Cute girl,'_ he mused.

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Who wrote a winter fic at the beginning of August? That would be me. Now, if you would direct your attention to the lovely green button here...


	2. And Maybe, Some Things Are That Simple

I finished this chapter AND wrote the last two all today. I feel so accomplished, you have no idea.

Disclaimer: .sretcarahc sti fo yna ro YWEWT nwo t'nod I

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Simple and Clean

- Ch. 2 -

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Lunch went over without a hitch. Joshua wasn't the type who particularly liked eating in front of people, but he surprisingly found himself not minding having lunch with the others. There was always someone talking, sustaining some sort of conversation, which made it decently comfortable. After they finished eating, they (read: Shiki) did some shopping, then ended up just wandering around the city for a while.

Over the next week or so, this type of friendly gathering became a normal occurrence. It was almost fun, Joshua mused, getting together like this. By this time, Shibuya was slowly falling into winter. Temperatures dropped and snowflakes began drifting onto the scene, sparkling against the colorful backdrop of the city. All in all, Joshua liked winter. Despite the chilly temperatures, he found it to be a calming, rather beautiful time of year.

_Ting!_

The boy didn't even spare a glance as he heard someone come through the door. The café was quite busy, as was usual during the winter months, and someone was always coming or going. However, as he looked up from his book for a moment to take a sip of coffee, he became mildly interested as a petite blonde girl made her way to the counter.

She was dressed in a white winter coat that reached to about her mid-thigh, where it met a pair of dark, straight jeans.

"It suits you," he said rather loudly so as to attract her attention as she walked by his table. Rhyme turned and looked around for a moment before noticing him. He was seated alone in a corner booth, placed smack in the middle of the seat. He looked so natural there that he almost blended in...

"Oh, Joshua! Hi!" Rhyme beamed, taking a step back. "Umm... What did you say?"

Joshua smirked. "I said, 'It suits you.' The outfit, I mean," he said, nodding his head in her direction. "It's a nice change from those oversized clothes that you always wear. Not that those look terrible on you, either," he added, grinning at her slightly flustered expression.

"Oh, well, thank you!"

He would bet that she hardly ever got compliments like that, being the tomboyish dresser that she was.

"Here, have a seat. It's awfully crowded." He was right: Looking around, there wasn't an open seat in sight.

"Oh! Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

After a second's hesitation, Rhyme set her cup down on the table and removed her coat, revealing a vermillion-colored sweater. _'She must like orange,'_ Joshua mentally noted, taking another sip of coffee as he watched her slip into the seat across from him.

"So, what brings you here? It's rare to see you without your dearest brother at your side," he said, leaning in and resting his chin on his hands.

Rhyme smiled. "Yeah, Beat's at home... He has some work to do. School stuff."

"Ah." _'No surprise there. I'm sure his teachers are always giving him work over the holidays in some fruitless attempt to smarten him up...'_

"Well, that's too bad. At least you can get out, though."

"Yeah, I'm glad. I actually really enjoy coming here... To WildKat, I mean. Mr. H. has the best coffee!" With that, she picked up her own steaming cup and carefully blew into the little opening before taking a small sip. As she set it back down, Joshua couldn't help but giggle, causing Rhyme to cock her head a bit and look at him inquiringly.

"Oh, you're just so cute," he said, smiling deviously and brushing a few wandering hairs from his face.

Rhyme blushed a little and looked down at her lap. "O-oh, thank you..."

The two talked for a while, about Shibuya and snow and shopping and food. Eventually, Rhyme's cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled it out to find that Beat had sent her a text message indicating that their mom wanted her home so she could help with holiday preparations (only in less and shorter words).

"Looks like I've gotta go," Rhyme said as she punched out a quick "Alright, be home soon." in reply. "Wow, it's getting late already... Time flies when you're talking over coffee, huh?" She smiled at her companion, then took a last sip of her coffee and gathered her coat.

"Oh, that's a shame. Well, it was lovely talking with you..."

Joshua was fully prepared to let her leave, just like that, to smile and wave and sit there, watching her walk away as he picked up his book again and began reading where he had left off, but for some inexplicable reason he found himself speaking again.

"Rhyme, what are you doing tomorrow?"

Rhyme, who had stood up and now had her coat hanging half-way off of her, looked up at him with a bit of a shock. After a second of thought, she responded.

"Hmm... Nothing, I think. Why?"

"Would you like to do some holiday shopping together? I don't know about you, but I've been blowing it off for the past month." Where the hell were these words coming from? They were just rolling right off of his tongue, even before his mind could approve of them.

"That... sounds like fun!" Rhyme smiled. She was a bit surprised at this sudden invitation. Joshua didn't seem the type to do things like this...

"Alright. Why don't we meet outside 104 around... 1:00?"

Rhyme nodded and slipped her other arm into her coat. "Sounds good! I'll see you there."

She smiled, then turned and walked away, stopping only to throw out her empty coffee cup before heading out the door with a last jingle of the festive bell.

Joshua was again alone in his corner, pondering what he had just done. He was slightly surprised at himself, but he was smiling nonetheless. Suddenly realizing that he didn't even know what the date was, he pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and opened the calendar.

He found himself smirking as his eyes fell on the next day's date: December 24th.

Christmas Eve.

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I hope it's enjoyable so far... *worry worry*

Review, please? *sparkly puppy dog eyes*


	3. It's Hard to Let it Go

You know, as much as I listened to "Simple and Clean" while writing this, I also lived off of Coldplay...

Disclaimer: I OWN EVERYTHING. TWEWY AND THE CHARACTERS. THEY'RE MINE. ... Okay that's a lie. I don't own anything. But I got you, didn't I?

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Simple and Clean

- Ch. 3 -

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"You're WHAT?!"

"I'm going to meet Joshua. We're going Christmas shopping together."

It had just occurred to Rhyme last night that this wasn't going to go over well with her brother. For some reason, she hadn't really thought about it before, and the fact that Beat _did not _like Joshua had never once entered her thoughts. She was not, however, about to let that interfere with her day.

"Beat, come on. I know you don't particularly like him--"

"Like HELL I like him! I wanna punch tha' prissy kid's lights out!"

"-- but you should really give him a chance. He's not that bad, and I think that he's actually a really nice guy."

Beat made an unsatisfied face that said, "Pssh, alright," but stopped arguing. "Look, whatever. If you think he's okay, then I guess he MIGHT be okay, but if he lays a _finger_ on you, you betta call me up ASAP and let me beat the crap outta him."

Rhyme sighed as she finished lacing up her shoes. "I'll be fine, Beat. I promise." With that, she grabbed her coat from the rack and smiled at her exasperated brother as she walked out the front door.

As much as she wanted to simply brush off what Beat had said, she couldn't help but think about it as she made her way to the 104 building. She couldn't deny the fact that she had heard quite a few more-than-negative comments about Joshua from Beat, Neku, and even Shiki, but he honestly seemed like a nice person to her. She had heard something about him killing Neku, but she didn't know the details and had decided to put it out of her mind, as scary as it should've been. Really, though, he acted perfectly normal - albeit a bit provocative at times - as far as Rhyme could see.

She was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she walked headlong into something - or someone.

"Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry... Joshua?"

The latter turned and grinned as she said his name. "You're pretty lucky that it was me," he giggled, flicking a finger through his ashen bangs. "It doesn't seem like you to not pay attention like that. Got something on your mind?"

Rhyme shook her head. "I guess I just wasn't watching where I was going..."

Joshua giggled again and motioned for her to follow him inside. 104 was packed, as usual, with people of all ages scurrying from place to place, window-shopping or bustling about on a search for Christmas gifts.

"Well," Joshua said as they stepped through the door, "where shall we start? Looking for anything in particular?"

Again, Rhyme shook her head. "Nope! We can go wherever you want."

"Alright, then," Joshua grinned, pulling off his gloves and stuffing them in his coat pocket, "just follow my lead."

They hit D+B, Edoga, Wild Boar (where Rhyme bought a lovely T-shirt and pair of pants for Beat), and Mus Rattus before deciding to take a break around Hachiko. As they stood in line at Sunshine Stationside waiting to grab a bite to eat, Joshua again found himself studying his companion.

She acted so cheerful and carefree all the time; It was as if the smile never faded from her face. He honestly didn't understand it, but it seemed to have a positive effect on him anyway - at least, that's what he figured, since every time he was around her he ended up smiling more and more. He was enjoying himself on this little outing of theirs. Joshua was actually glad to be around her, which was saying something, seeing as he truly couldn't stand people. With most everyone else it was as if they were there and he was just some attachment, some nonentity just along for the ride. They didn't care about him, and for the most part he didn't care about them, either. With Rhyme, though, it was so unbelievably different: _She _initiated conversation; _She_ asked his opinions on things; _She_ listened to him and made _him_ feel like they really were two normal people just being together.

Suddenly, Joshua had an impulse that he, at that moment, really couldn't explain.

"Would you wait here a minute? I'll be right back," he said, dropping his small bag at Rhyme's feet.

"Sure...Where are you going?"

Joshua just smiled and waved as he walked away, leaving Rhyme to simply shrug and turn back to face the counter.

A few minutes later, Rhyme looked up to see him walking towards her table. He was empty-handed, so he couldn't have been shopping, could he...? She smiled and waved, and he did the same, though there was something in his eyes that she wasn't quite sure about...

Rhyme being Rhyme, though, she asked no questions and simply continued to smile as he slid into the seat across from her.

"Say," Joshua said as he and Rhyme finally stood, after having finished their snacks, "do you know how to ice skate?"

Rhyme sighed. "I'm _terrible_ at ice skating. I just don't seem to have the coordination..."

Joshua smirked and picked up their bags. "I could teach you, you know. Why don't we give it a go?"

Rhyme blushed a little for reasons unknown to her. "I... Are you sure? I don't want to be too much trouble... I really am pretty awful."

They dumped their trays into the garbage and headed out the door. It was dark now - or, at least, the sky was; the city landscape was lit up with sparkling colors of neon signs and Christmas lights. The stars were almost completely blocked out, and only the slight sliver of a moon was visible in the evening sky.

"Come on, you don't even want to _try_?" Joshua pressed as they walked aimlessly out into the crowd.

"... Fine, I'll try it. But... But don't be too harsh, okay? I'm really uncoordinated."

Joshua grinned and started off in the direction of the ice rink. He knew she'd give in eventually, and for some reason, he was really looking forward to the rest of the evening...

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Like it? Y/Y? Reviews = HELLZ TO THE YES PLEASE.


	4. You're All I Need

Last chapter, guys. The oh-so-anticipated conclusion, amirite? In all honesty, I didn't originally intend for this to be four chapters long; I wanted it to be three, but the last part got too long so I split it up. It's a bit annoying, seeing as I'm not too fond of the number four, but I guess it works. *shrugs*

Disclaimer: Own TWEWY or its characters I do not.

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Simple and Clean

- Ch. 4 -

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Rhyme tugged hard on the laces of her skates. At the very least, she didn't want to fall over because her shoes were too loose.

"Ready?"

She nodded and stood up. "I... I think so."

Joshua giggled. "If you say so. Now," he extended his black-gloved hand, "hold on tight, okay? We don't want you falling _too_ hard."

Rhyme gently placed her own hand in his. "What, you're already _convinced_ that I'm going to fall?"

"Hee hee."

The two stepped out onto the ice. It was like entering a different world: People were everywhere, zooming around the pale blue rink against the bright colors shining all around them. Lights were strung up everywhere - not just around the rink, but around every nearby building - and wreaths and ribbons hung all over the surrounding walls. It really was like its own little world, standing out against the darkness of the Tokyo night.

"Okay, now, you need to find a rhythm. It's like walking to a beat."

"Walking to a beat... okay... Ah!" She slipped a little and grasped his hand tightly for support, recovering quickly.

"A-alright... so... like this?"

She moved her feet slowly past each other at a surprisingly steady pace, as if to a song, with a certain amount of beats between each movement. She got off balance a few times, but always recovered almost right away and picked it up again.

"Yes... you're doing well... Careful... Mmm hmm, just keep going at that pace. Now, try sliding your feet more rather than picking them up off the ground."

"Okay..."

By the end of their session, they had made it around the rink several times, and each time they went just a little faster than the last. Once they had finished up, they began wandering about Shibuya with not a care in the world. After walking for a while, they ended up back at Hachiko. The crowd had, for the most part, spread out around other areas, making room for them to sit.

"Ahh!" Rhyme sighed, plopping down at the statue's feet and stretching her arms and legs out. Joshua sat down next to her, placing their bags at his own feet.

"So? Did you have fun?"

Rhyme turned to face him, her head resting back against the stone. Her cheeks were a rosy, warm shade of pink thanks to the cold, and her eyes were sparkling with the reflection of every single light in the city. She was beaming, and Joshua felt, for the first time, like he had actually made someone happy.

And man, was that a good feeling.

"Of course!" she replied, sitting up again. "I still can't believe that I actually got around that last time without falling even once! You're a fantastic teacher, Joshua!"

Joshua smiled. Yeah, that was a _damn_ good feeling.

"Oh," he said, suddenly remembering his earlier impulse, "I almost forgot..." He reached into his oversized coat pocket and pulled out a small blue box, wrapped with a single red ribbon. Rhyme looked from the box to him inquisitively, wondering what on earth he could be doing until suddenly it dawned on her.

"Is that...?"

"It's for you."

He handed her the box and a look of shock flooded across her flustered face.

"O-oh, no, I couldn't possibly..." He nudged it toward her once again, and after glancing at him one last time, she bit her lip and took it. She began gingerly pulling the ribbon off, protesting all the while with, "You really didn't have to..." and, "I can't believe this..."

As she opened the box, her mouth fell open, putting a stop to any more objections that she might have had.

"Here, let me put it on you..."

She silently held out her wrist as Joshua reached over and closed the clasp. It was a bracelet, undoubtedly from Pavo Real (_'So _that's _what he was doing...'_), made up of tiny silver skulls held together by small chain links. Rhyme turned her wrist and admired it from every angle, letting the city lights bounce off of it and reflect upon her disbelieving face.

"Joshua... I... Thank you! It's... It's _gorgeous_..."

He smirked. "Glad you like it."

"Why...?"

She looked up at him with a curious expression, as if she was searching for answers that just weren't there. Joshua, however, just smiled again.

"What? I can't buy you a Christmas present?"

Before Rhyme could inquire further, she was distracted by something cold landing on the very tip of her nose. She let out a small gasp.

"It's snowing!"

They both looked up. It was, indeed, starting to snow. Small, sparkling ice crystals were tainting the darkened sky, floating down and melding into the lit-up Shibuya backdrop. When Rhyme lowered her gaze again, she was surprised to see Joshua staring at her. He had this expression on his face that she had never seen before...

She thought she felt her cheeks redden even more and she quickly averted her gaze. Somewhere in her mind, she knew. At that exact moment, she knew that she liked Joshua... more than just as a friend. A wave of seemingly random facts suddenly flowed to the front of her mind: It was Christmas Eve - He had just given her a bracelet - They had just gone ice skating together - He was still looking at her -

- And she was still refusing to look at him.

She looked up to meet his gaze again. "Joshua... Umm..."

"What is it?"

She turned away again, and this time she was sure that her face was gaining more color by the second. She was about to make another sorry attempt at forming a sentence, but when she next turned to look at him, Joshua's face was mere inches from her own.

Without either of them saying a word, he leaned in and kissed her, just like that. The snow was falling more heavily now, and the shining flakes were swirling all around them. Had they not known better, they might've thought that time itself had stopped.

When they finally broke apart, neither of them had anything to say. They just sat there and looked at each other for a long time in silence, the rest of the world just a colorful haze in the background.

"Joshua..." Rhyme began, breaking the quietude, "I... I think I really like you." Her eyes widened as she said it, and the pitch of her voice indicated that she was surprised at herself. Joshua didn't reply right away, but he smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. This time, after he kissed her, he nuzzled his face into the collar of her coat. His hand found its way around to her back, and he let his arm wrap around her tiny waist.

After a few moments, he lifted his head to look at her. Her black hat and the golden locks that poked out from under it were dusted with a fine coating of sugary snow. A few flakes rested easily on her eyelashes, adding to the sparkle that was already twinkling in her piercingly blue eyes.

Joshua leaned in again and rested his forehead lightly against hers, closing his own eyes. He could practically feel Rhyme's heart beating through her coat - though that could very well have been his own thundering pulse - and he felt strangely at home right there, sitting on the cold concrete with her in his arms.

"You're all I need, Rhyme. You're all I need..."

He pressed his lips against hers one more time, taking in the sweet, warm taste of her tongue as he pulled himself closer and gently pushed her against the statue. She made him feel so... so simple, so clean... like he really _didn't_ need anything else at that moment.

"Mmm..."

Joshua opened his eyes again as Rhyme spoke.

"Joshua... Thank you."

He was the one who should be thanking her, but to hell with that. She was his, dammit, and he was Joshua. He wasn't about to thank her.

"You're welcome," he said, again burying his face into her neck.

"Merry Christmas, Rhyme."

She giggled and looked up at the still-starless sky, her rosy cheeks glowing into the falling snow. Here she was on Christmas Eve, sitting at Hachiko's feet with Joshua, of all people, and she was probably the happiest girl in all of Tokyo. Still smiling, she rested her cheek on his hair and closed her eyes.

"Yeah... Merry Christmas, Joshua."

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... The ending... I'm not terribly satisfied with it, but I don't hate it. I hope it's okay...

*EDIT: -exasperated sigh- I changed the goddamn ending. I literally was _having trouble getting to sleep_ because it was bothering me so much, and just now I finally decided to do something about it, once and for all. I hope that it's better, I really do.

Now, if you'll look down, you'll see the big, shiny "Review" button. Feel free to click!


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